It is that time of the year. Karachi residents witnessed the first spell of monsoon. It used to be that the rainy season was a festive season for the residents of this city. At the first monsoon showers, almost the entire city would be out on the roads enjoying the rain with entire families enjoying the moment for which they had waited the whole year.
Karachi at that time was not so densely populated and multi-storied housing units were yet to make their appearance blotting out the city’s skyline and creating hurdles in the way of the cool sea breeze that kept the city cool during the hot summer and monsoon months. Monsoon in the city was heralded by the big mushroom like clouds that would on a hot day suddenly appear on the city’s skyline and within no time spread across the city accompanied by rain and cool winds. This would provide immense relief to the sun-soaked city and all and sundry would be on the streets in no time. A lot has changed and as the saying goes “A lot of water has passed under the bridges” and things have changed dramatically.
A very important change has been the high level of decrease in rain in the province of Sindh and especially in Karachi. Karachi’s monsoon season in 2023 was the driest since 2018 and the third driest in the last 15 years, with only 45mm of rain recorded, compared to what has been the normal average of 130-140mm.
All those who enjoyed rain and celebrated its arrival with walk in the showers and cooking of rain specialties like Puris and Pakoras are bitterly disappointed. The problem is that if it does rain according to past records the city has to cope with many more problems than it faced in the past when the city had not grown so unchecked in the horizontal and vertical direction.
A very real problem is open manholes. How these come about has been discussed to death but they still exist and no one seems to have a solution for their continuous disappearance, leading to gaping holes under the water waiting to trap, specially young children, who have no idea that the friendly water stagnating near their home is actually a death trap for them and their friends.
No one is willing to accept the responsibility but the problem exists denting any celebration the monsoon rains inspire. Everyone looks towards the concerned government agencies to solve the problem but maybe if the community got together and themselves created a plan to counter this danger less lives will be lost. It cannot be really difficult to cover an open manhole or at least plant a sign on it warning every one of the danger that lurks.
Another danger during rain is lack of adherence to safety protocols. It is best to stay away from electricity infrastructure, and do not touch it when at the same time you are standing in the water. The responsibility lies with all of us. It is practically impossible for the power utility to see where its infrastructure is being tampered with real-time. Proverbially, they are between the devil and the deep sea.
When they cut off power supply to an area because of reports of a pole discharging current there is a hue and cry and even blocking of traffic by concerned residents and if they do not then some incident happens. Something else the common people do not know is that all poles do not belong to one company.
Street-lights, for example, are the property of city government and so on. It is best to tackle each case individually and maybe the elders in various localities maintain a list of ownership of various electric poles so the concerned department can be contacted immediately saving valuable lives.
The first rains in Karachi were quite heavy and spread over the entire city. After a long time whole of Karachi was drenched with ensuing problems accompanied with a sigh of relief from the unbearable heat. I think the people of Karachi will still opt for rain. A cool breeze and a chance to bathe in cool waters from the sky is a lot better than sweating in hot unbearable temperatures.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The writer is a well-known columnist